Sochi road-building effort in home stretch

SOCHI, Russia, April 12 (UPI) -- The system of new roads leading to the Winter Olympics in Russia is more than three-quarters complete, project managers said Friday.

Roman Starovoyt, head of the state-run infrastructure company Rosavtodor, said the $4.9 billion road-building project was 77-percent finished with less than a year to go before the 2014 games in Sochi.

Russia is adding 41.6 kilometers (25.8 miles) of new federal highways to the region ahead of the Olympics, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said. The major projects still under way include a coastal road connecting Sochi to the Olympic Park, and a road from the coast into the mountains.